IBS?.] Sugar. 519 



verted into good sugar. The fact that the mere presence of oil of 

 vitriol will transform starch into grape-sugar, gives us faith to be- 

 lieve that something will soon be discovered that will complete the 

 transformation into cane sugar. Hitherto all attempts to effect this 

 have failed. The manufucturer has considered himself fortunate if 

 he could keep tbe cane sugar already existing in his juice, from re- 

 lapsing into grape. When the sugar-cane was first cultivated in 

 Louisiana, the planters made only syrup from it, and it was not unti^ 

 the superior skill of a Cuban sugar boiler had shown them that it 

 could be grained, that they gave serious attention to its cultivation. 



THE CHINESE SUGAR CANE. 



We see the bearing of all this upon the Sorghum, to which atten- 

 tion is now every where turned in the hope that it will prove to be 

 the sweetener of life. We obtained some of the juice whicb had 

 been expressed some twenty-four hours, and as the weather was 

 warm it was slightly fermented. Its specific gravity was 1,064, treat- 

 ed it with the bi sulphate of lime, but failed to crystalize. On a 

 subsequent occasion boiled some of the cane and thus extracted its 

 juice, making a fine syrup, equal to the best maple, but also failed in 

 its crystalizatioo. This plant is found rich in sacharine matter, and 

 is readily manufactured into a very pleasant syrup, but as yet has 

 defied all our efforts to reduce to sugar. We have seen crystals 

 formed from it, a beautiful specimen was brought before the Cincin- 

 nati Horticultural Society, but on examination into the process of 

 granulation, it was found that loaf-sugar had been introduced into 

 it. Accounts have reached us of other successes in this particular, 

 but we are not prepared to give them publicity. To our minds it is 

 extremely doubtful, even if the desired result should be obtained, 

 whether sugar manufactured from this plant will ever become profit- 

 able. After summing up our year's experiraents^we are prepared to 

 say that from two to three hundred gallons of syrup can be manu- 

 factured to the acre at a cost of from fifteen to twenty cents per 

 gallon. It possibly may be brought below this figure, where fuel 

 and labor is' cheap. We doubt not many will continue to experiment 

 upon it, and in their zeal may pronounce it a success, and we are 

 not fully prepared to discourage efforts in the culture, but we are 

 frank to confess our zeal has had some abatement in the efforts which 

 we have made. 



We- have m.uiufactured one hundred gallons of molasses the past 



